Plaintiff filed a complaint for declaratory judgment seeking a declaration of the terms of a trust in order to distribute the trust’s assets. The trial court granted judgment on plaintiff’s complaint and, in a prior appeal, the appellate court affirmed the trial court order. Plaintiff subsequently filed a petition for further declaratory relief seeking to enforce an in terrorem clause. The trial court applied the clause, effectively disinheriting defendants, and the defendants appealed. The appellate court reversed, finding that the defendants’ conduct in the prior litigation did not constitute an attack on the distributions under the trust agreement as the dispute centered on whether the plaintiff’s proposed actions violated the controlling law. As a result, the in terrorem clause did not apply. (ELLIS and BURKE, concurring)
Illinois Appellate Court
Civil Court
Trusts and Estates